Phoenix
by AuDC Productions
Summary: Red X was not the only one that died that night in Gotham. A part of Dick died as well. Now Dick goes to find guidance to be reborn from the ashes of his past.


**Author's Notes: **Greetings everyone! So as I was working on Arkham Risings, I have changed a few things about the Rose/Ravager story. It will be a series of one-shots (five of them) centering around five members of the Wilson Family which includes: Rose/Ravager II, Jake/Red X, Grant/Jericho, Slade/Deathstroke, and Wade/Deadpool. I found that this is easiest for me due to my schedule and it does not change much. In fact, the first one-shot should be out in a week with the first chapter of Arkham Rising following right behind it. Again, thanks for reading and leave a review/PM for any thoughts, comments, or questions. Peace.

**Disclaimer: **I do no own Teen Titans or Young Justice or any other DC Comics material.

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Phoenix

One year. That was the time between the death of Red X and today. That was the length between the last time he was ever Robin and when he passed the torch to his younger brother, Jason. In that period of time, a lot has changed.

Artemis, for starters, was different in school. She was colder, distant, and hated things such as prom and other dances. She nearly broke one of the jock's arms for attempting to put an arm around her shoulder. Dick learned through M'gann that Artemis had a hard time dealing with Jake's death, though no one blamed her. Even Wally, who had expressed his sincere dislike for Jake and Red X alike, understood that the thief's death had affected Artemis greatly. The archer normally kept it inside whilst amongst the Team before unleashing a hellish rage on some poor criminal. Dinah had stated that she feared that Artemis's emotions would soon consume her and turn her into something akin to Roy. Dick prayed that the woman was wrong.

Then there was Cheshire. Dick's lips pursed a bit at the thought of Cheshire easily disposing Jason on one of his earlier nights as Robin. She toyed with him and taunted him, giving the boy more than his fair share of bumps and bruises. Though, she would not kill him. She stated that she wanted the "real Robin" for that. Dick kept an eye out for the assassin everyday now.

Surprisingly, Kaldur'ahm drastically changed as well. He begged Dick to come back and take leadership from him. Despite the Atlantean keeping his cool on missions and making the best calls that could have been made in Dick's opinion, Kaldur still felt that Jake's death was an "unnecessary thing that had to happen." They all knew the situation. Jake was going to kill Wally. Kaldur responded and saved his friend. It was something that Barry was grateful for while Bruce- or rather Batman- ordered that the entire team attends counseling for six straight months until they were ready for another field operation.

Dick snorts under his breath. If they had a counselor for the Teen Titans, maybe they would not have disbanded after the debacle in Gotham?

Dick pauses on the trail and wipes some sweat from his brow.

He had changed for sure. He no longer saw himself as the next Batman. Hell, he did not even want to be Robin anymore. There were things that no child, hero or not, should go through and he was sure that his life had all of those things. From the death of his family to watching Jake fall to his death, Dick had wished to put it all behind him. Artemis was rightfully angry with him while Kori… Well the girl from Tamaran was quite defensive whenever someone brought up Red X in the wrong light. And when Barbara became Batgirl and was filled in on the situation…

Well it was safe to say that Dick did not spend nearly as much time outside of his home than he used to.

Completing his journey up the mountain, Dick lets out a small breath. His lack of workout was starting to show as his stamina was dropping to what it was when he became a Teen Titan. Now, that was still above the average stamina for a kid his age and size, but still. It was nowhere near his prime a few months back.

"Ah," An aged woman said stepping out of the only home on the mountain top. "It is good to see you again, young warrior. Have you come for more training or just to release what it is that is on your chest. You look troubled."

"It is good to see you again, Master Chu-hui." Dick responds with a respective bow. "And… I am troubled about something."

"Hmm, yes. The last I have seen that look on your face, you questioned if your heroics were worth it. It came after your meeting with Red X." Dick flinches involuntarily at the name. A year after the guy had died and he still felt uneasy saying that name without looking around for the thief. "Has something happened?"

"Yeah… Uh, X is…"

Dick never knew why it was hard completing that sentence. When he spoke to the former Titans, he simply said that it was "over." When he spoke to Bruce and Alfred about it, he said that "Red X was no more". But he had never outright said that Jake was dead. Artemis had admitted it once. Dick, however, was still struggling.

"Is there something wrong, Master Dick?" Dick sighs at the woman's question.

"Sensei, Red X is… He's gone." Chu-hui's head tilts to the side a bit. "We went to stop him after he attempted a jewelry heist. I didn't know that it would escalate to what it did. And he… Jake…"

"Jake? You have never mentioned Red X's name until now. Has something changed between you two?" The commonly known True Master questioned.

"We weren't best friends. But we understood each other. Those doubts that I had, he somehow cleared them. I now see that I am not Robin. I am Dick Grayson. And my morals and life lessons should out-weigh protocol on a mission. But…"

"But it doesn't and it never will." Chu-hui spoke. "I have seen many men and women walk around this world believing those very same words. They have all failed on that quest. Your life as Dick Grayson and your life as Robin are a representation of balance. Dick will forever control your emotions. Robin will control your logic. Without one or the other one, you are bound to make worse mistakes than you may think you have already made."

Dick turned his attention to the clouds passing above them.

"Jake said something similar. He said that by living most of my life as Robin, I become a boy with no identity. That anyone could put on a pair of colorful tights and call themselves Robin. A part of me believes him. By acting more on protocol instead of what I felt was right, I've watched both of Slade's children go." Dick stated.

The elder hummed in thought before taking a step towards the stairs leading down the mountain.

"Have you given up?" The woman asked.

"I… I don't know." Dick said. "I stopped being Robin. Jason is now."

"So you have given up. I thought I have trained you to stay focus on your goal and achieve them? That even if you are out-sized or blinded, you can overcome any obstacle." Chu-hui said.

Dick only remained silent. He avoided having this conversation with Bruce and Alfred in fear that they would most likely tell him what he was programmed to believe. Things like this happened all the time and not everyone can be saved. But this was not something that Robin was prepared to face. Dick had seen his family die before. Robin had not.

"Something tells me that you see yourself somewhere in Red X. Am I wrong?"

Dick shook his head. The comparison between the two was something he had long stopped disputing. Truthfully, he and Jake were similar. Not so much Robin and Red X, but Dick and Jake were very similar. They both experienced tragedies within their families and have problems with their father figure. They had both dated- or at least flirted in Dick's case- with one girl as a student at Gotham Academy while seeing someone completely different as their hero/villain persona. And they both tried to find every way to do a job without killing their opponent.

But there were differences.

Dick saw himself as the lighter version. He was under tutelage of and took shelter with Bruce Wayne. He had tutors from around the world teaching him before he went off to school. He put his skills to help the better of the city and save those that he could. He became the Boy Wonder and part of the Dynamic Duo. He became a hero. And he chose to seek the guidance of the True Master; Chu-hui.

Jake, however, did those things but in a darker sense. He was the son of Deathstroke the Terminator. He traveled the world to gain the knowledge he needed before settling down and going to school like a normal teen. His skills were used to further his own goals and wants with little care about what others thought. He became the Heir of the Demon, trained by the League of Assassins. He was born an assassin. And the person that gave him answers was one of the most dangerous fighters in the world; Lady Shiva.

Yet Dick had to secretly admit that Jake was right. Jake was Yin and Dick was Yang. They needed one another to maintain balance. They needed one another to survive.

"Do you believe that he is dead?" The woman's voice broke Dick's thoughts.

"Believe? I know so. I saw it." Dick returned.

"Close your eyes." Dick did what he was instructed. "Do you feel him inside of you? Do you believe that he is dead? Or can you feel him living somewhere else."

"I… I don't know." replied the teen. "When we fought, when I knew he was alive, I could feel him. That last fight, I knew he was holding back. He was hiding something. I knew that he had trained with Shiva and-"

Chu-hui interrupts him with a short chuckle.

"So Shiva did take in another student? And he so happens to be your rival?" Dick was a little confused about where his former teacher found this humorous but did not question. She probably picked up on his confusion and would explain her mirth if she wanted him to know. "I see your problem, young warrior."

"You do?"

Chu-hui nods. "Yes, I do." The woman rests her hands on top of her wooden staff. "Sandra Wu-san was a girl who went off to learn the ways of martial arts in order to avenge her sister. She went around the world, training with the best of the best until she eventually got strong enough to kill the murderer of her sister."

"Did she kill him?" Dick asked.

"Them. She killed them." Chu-hui answered. "But by then she had lost so much of her former self that the victory meant little to her. She went around the world in search for that part of herself, training with the best of the best until she developed a style that could rival my own." Chu-hui closed her eyes as a gentle breeze swept across their faces. "And then she died."

"I'm… I'm sorry. Was Sandra your student? Did Shiva kill her?" The True Master laughs at Dick's response.

"Sometimes you are still so naïve young warrior. Sandra and I met ages ago. She came to me, not for training, but for shelter. Then again, the world is a scary place for a little girl to be by herself." Chu-hui said as she remembered the girl that had climbed her mountain. "By that time she had already made up her mind that she wanted to become the greatest martial artists to kill those who had murdered her sister. She wanted to learn all of the moves and their counters in order to preserve herself. But in the hunt for these skills Sandra would die."

"I don't understand. How?" questioned Dick.

Chu-hui opens her eyes. "She evolved and became the woman you know today. Shiva."Chu-hui looks at the former Robin. "I believe there lies your answer."

"I'm not following you…" Dick said honestly.

"Jake Cross evolved much like his mentor. He is no longer just a thief. He is no longer just Red X. He has become something that Shiva respects. Something that far exceeds Ra's plans." Dick's former mentor spoke. "I don't think that he is truly dead."

"That… Doesn't answer my question. And how did you know-"

"Sandra visited me a year ago. She came to thank me for my hospitality while telling me of young Jake Cross. She said that she saw the potential in him that I saw in you and that she was intrigued to see the man he will become."

"He will…?" Dick states. "Shiva thinks that Jake is alive?" The True Master nods. "But how can that… I saw him."

"You also talked to a talking bear, a talking snake, and a talking monkey. Are you really the one to question someone's credibility?" Chu-hui said. "Your problem is that you trust your eyes far too much and have lost your will. You have lost the fire inside of you that once made you Robin. In a way, you have devolved."

Dick stepped next to the woman.

"Then what do I do?" he asks.

"Simple. You evolve." Dick stares at the aged lady as if she was now senile in her older years.

"How do I 'evolve'? I tried to learn from my mistakes from the last missions with the Titans and it ended with Jake's death." Dick said. "I tried to change and I failed. I tried to grow up from my mistakes but I was still too afraid to take leadership of the Team. I can't evolve. I can't change."

"Changing is a lot harder than staying the same. It takes courage to face yourself in the mirror and look beyond your reflection to find the you that should have been. The you that got derailed by cruel childhood events… Events that took your life's natural trajectory and twisted it, changing into something unimaginable or even incredible." As Chu-hui spoke, Dick gazed out towards the town below and grasped what she was telling him. "You have seen too much to be Robin. You're too optimistic to be Batman. You are Richard Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne and last member of the Amazing Flying Graysons. It is time for you to reignite that flame that helped you embrace your birthright, your destiny… It is time for you to be reborn! Just like Jake. Just like Shiva. Just like Bruce. Just like-"

"A phoenix." Dick concluded.

Dick stood quietly and absorbed the information. Jake did seem different their last bout than he did during his heists. And whenever Artemis was in trouble he seemed to be able to pull some trick out of his butt to save her whether she wanted it or not. He no longer claimed that he was "looking out for number one" but stated that he was doing this to keep those he cared about safe.

"Red X may be dead," Chu-hui stated. "But I believe that Jake Cross is only beginning. People like him don't come often. I am happy to have met someone of his caliber and to call him my student."

Dick bows. "Thank you Sensei but I don't think that I can defeat Jake in his Red X suit. He's surpassed me."

"There is sunlight left. Would you like to begin your training?" Dick blinks before nodding.

"I would be honored." He was then whacked on the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"The shades come off. How can you see properly with those things on?" Dick groans before removing his dark shades. "Now, are you ready to begin your training? Not as Robin but as Dick Grayson?"

"I am."

Dick realized that if Jake had somehow lived that fall, he would probably come back twice as strong and twice as annoying. Jake Cross being annoying was something Dick could not fix. But Dick could better his odds at defeated Jake one on one if he worked hard enough.

Besides, becoming something other than Robin was already in his future right? Or at least, that is what Starfire said.


End file.
